Dearly Beloved,
First, a reminder: we will be worshipping at First Christian Church (2000 N Lincoln Avenue) on Sunday celebrating Holy Humor. Please wear colorful clothes, your unicorn hats if you have one, and anything else that is fun and playful and joyful. Our youth group S3 will also be gathering after worship at First Christian Church.
What a glorious spring morning it is! I am so grateful for collaborations and partnerships -- sharing Maundy Thursday and Good Friday worship with our neighboring downtown churches was such a blessing. I also want to offer a shout-out and thank you to the Kauffmans, Brian Schuetz and Paul Heintzleman for making our Easter Sunrise service so beautiful and to our Music Minister Nicoletta Glantz and the choir for the amazing Good Friday service and Easter cantata.
God's beloved, my heart is full and overflowing.
And I am heartbroken. I am heartbroken that our government continues to support decimation of a people's homeland. The destruction of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza should bring us all to our knees. Each of us knows someone in the hospital right now. And I cannot even imagine what it would be like to have one of those hospitals in our community targeted and destroyed, with sick and injured, caregivers and healthcare providers killed in the destruction.
Following close on the heels of the destruction of this healthcare infrastructure is the killing of aid workers seeking to deliver food to starving Palestinians. Is your heart not breaking, also? Sometimes I wonder how we can proclaim resurrection in the midst of such evil. Sometimes I wonder how Christ can be risen when such violence continues unchecked.
And yet, this is the mystery of Easter -- that somehow death does not end. Violence is not undone. Peace does not prevail. Not in our world. Not in our nation. Not in our neighborhoods. Not in our own homes and lives. And still, we proclaim Christ risen. Still, we bear witness to the ways in which new life cannot be snuffed out, the ways in which love persists even when the cost is death, the ways in which God is present and Christ is indeed with us and within us.
One of our scripture readings this Sunday tells us that "God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength." I wonder... What does that mean for us? What does it mean to lean into God's foolishness and God's weakness?
In addition to these missives, I want to name a couple of celebrations. The first is Transgender Day of Visibility which was on March 31 this year. Many of us know and love people who are transgender, non-binary, gender fluid or intersex. Some of those people are able to be themselves openly and freely and others fear for their relationships, their jobs, and even their lives. Yesterday (April 2) was also World Autism Awareness Day. We have within our congregation and wider community a number of people who are autistic.
As an open and affirming congregation, we seek to be more intentionally and explicitly inclusive of all people! And so, to our trans and autistic siblings, we say simply: whoever you are and wherever you are on life's journey, you are a beloved child of God created in God's image!
With love and gratitude for all the ways that we seek to love deeply and extravagantly, Thandiwe
